Refrigerator



F. H. RYDER REFRIGERATOR June 12, 1934.

Filed NOV. 14. 1932 /lvvE/v rox? ArToR/v: Ys

Patented June '12, 1934 Y UNITED STATES VPATENT' OFFICE Y 1,963,034REFRIGERATOR Frank H. Ryder, Coble'skll', N. Y., assigner to HarderRefrigerator Corporation, Cobleskill, N. Y., corporation of New YorkApplication November 14, 1.932, Vserial No. 6425563 3 Claims. (Cl.62-46) My invention relates to refrigeration and' more to maintain thetemperature 0f ille milk spaee particularly but not exclusively torefrigerators substantially lower than that ofthe main space. of thetype in which ice is used as a refrigerant. Irl dOmeSle- Si'ZerefrigeratOrS 0f this 'U'Ype she v In any type of refrigerator, itisquite essential, ice storage space is usually comparatively narrow 5 ifperishable foods are to be cooled quickly and and deep and hence the topofthe ice itself,.espe 6U:

maintained at temperatures sumciently low to eielly after Some meltinghas OeCurred, iS C011- efect preservation thereof, that heat be with-Siderably belOW Jshe 5011 0f the iee Storage Spaee drawn therefrom witha fair degree of rapidity. and the Warm air return passage at vune topoi I Furthermore, since some foods which are highly the baille. It isundesirable lo lOWer iliiS'paSSage 1'01 perishable, such as milk,require for their eireeor to provide other passages or openings at lower65' tive preservation a, temperature considerably elevationscommunicating between the ice stor` lower than others, it is desirablethat some of the age space and the main food storage spacev loe-Y foodstorage space be so arranged that the neces- Cause, instead 0i thedesired lOW 0f Warm al1'- sary low temperature can be maintained thereinfromy the mein Spese irltothe iCe Compartment; 152, at 9,11 times thecold air from the ice compartment will flow- 70 since it is ordinarilyundesirable and in most into the main food space thereby robbing themilk cases impossible to store allthe food in. contact Storage Speleoand greatly impediig the Circuler- With or in @105e proximity to theice, it is necestion because of this reverse movement of air. sary so todesign the refrigerator that a constant Beeeuse 0f the Comparativelylarge Spaee Which' e circulation of air automatically takes placethereeXlSiS'betWeeil'tl-le ee 'rmd the iop of ille ice G0m 75' in. Forthis reason ice storage compartments are pertinent Where ille Wermed airmuSif-ener, endv usually placed. at the top of the refrigerator andWhich noleeses es' the lee melts, ilie'Wermed air extend over all or atleast part ot the food stordoes not foW into Contact With ille* iCeuntil 2f' n age Space. arrangement' the air about Considerable Volumehas alcculnulalted\n0t 25-the ioe is Cooled and Condensed, whereupon itthe upper portion of the ice compartment but 80";V flows downwardlythrough suitable openings into e150 in the adiaoent portion of thefoodCompartthe food` compartments where it absorbs heat menl- Hence the moeof' ollolllaiion and' the" from the food, expands and rises into theicing emeleney 0f the Tefllgelato decreases appie" compartment to becooled for a repetition of the eebly es the lee melts aleyele Thegeneral oblects ofmy invention, therefore, 85

Where the design is such that the cooled air are te Provide e'refrigerator of high` effieierley must poss downwardly and the warmedan. up having arapid rate of circulation which will not wardly throughthe same opening, circulation is lee substentlauy effected by lefgoVariations irl' greatly impeded and it is impracticable efliciently meVolume" end m Whleh ej' mlk Storage Spaoe to maintain temperatures aslow as are desirable een be Consistently memtamed' el? e urllformllT-90' and impossible to maintain a milk storage space 10W temperatureat atemperature substantially below that of the I accomplish these Objectsby the novel .ele remaining food Storage Space. ments and thearrangements thereofdescribed v These disadvantages are quite wellovercome @810W and; illustrated-n the aeoompenyirlg draW- 40* in thattype of refrigerator having a vertical baille mgln'wineh 95 or partitionextending from the front to the beek t Fig. 1 ls a front elevationalview partially insecand from a point somewhat atoove the floor to tionand wlth parts broken away to Yillustratethe a point quite near the top.The ice storage space cenetuetlen of my refrigerator; and is at the topand at one side, or substantially at Flg- 2 is a Section of Fg- 1rl'ihe'DlarleQ- one Sido, only of the partition- The milk Storage Inthek drawing 1 represents myv refrigerator' 100 space is immediatelybelow the ice, and the mainv generally- Whieh Comllrses the usual1casing 2 food storage space is on the opposite side of. the heVrlg lleeiinsulated WallS`3'SuDDOrl3ed-OI1 1e`gs4.- partition and extends. fromthe bottom tothe top -A Yef'goel'llng- Compartment' 5 isiprOVdedacrossof the refrigerator. the entire upper' portion' of the casing.This. I 50 By this arrangement the cooled air from. the Compartment isunderstood to-be closedlbyaidoor 105 ice flows lirst downwardly throughthe milkstor- 261 (see Fig- 2)- The balance of JUlfle sloerieWll'rn4 agespace, then under the bale or partition into 'the casing and lbelow therefrigerant comparte*- the mainstorage space, upwardly through this4mentfisused for'food storage and thisspacefisfl space and over the topof rthe baffle into the ice divided into two'sub-conflpartments '1" and8:"byf l f storage space. Thus it' is possible quite e'ciently avertically depending partition or baflle 9 ter- 11o 85 -l pointsubstantially removed from the top there- Y Vthe refrigerantcompartment, as

minating some distance, say seven or eight inches, above the interiorbottom 10 of the casing. The transverse partition 11 which forms thebottom of the refrigerant compartment and the top of the foodcompartments is heat-insulated, as is the baffle 9 which dependstherefrom.

Where ice 6 is used as a refrigerant it is supported on the usual rack12 spaced a few inches above the bottom of the refrigerant compartmentto provide therebetween a cold air flue or duct 13. Centrally disposedover the smaller food storage compartment 7 is an opening 14 ofsubstantial size in partition 11 which provides a passage for thedownward flow of cold air from the nue 13 into the sub-compartment 7.This sub-compartment 7 is designed to store highly perishable foods,while sub-compartment 8 is designed to store less perishable foods. Bothcompartments are provided with shelves (notshown) supported on theangles 15.

The bottom of the refrigerant compartment at the right hand sideterminates somewhat short of the inside of the refrigerator to providean opening 16 of substantially smaller cross sectional area than theopening 14 for the upward flow of warmed air, and a heat-insulatedbaille 17, spaced from the side wall of the refrigerator, extendsupwardly from the bottom of the refrigerant compartment to a pointintermediate the top and bottom of the compartment. This point ispreferably about midway between the top and bottom or even slightlybelow the mid point and, in any event, the baffle should extend upwardlyto a point somewhat above the 'bottom of the refrigerant compartment andterminate at a of. This baiiie together with the sides of the casingform a vertically extending warm air duct 22. Between the top of thebaiiie 17 and the top of Vthe refrigerant compartment, a protectivescreen 18 is employed to prevent ice from falling into the duct.

It will be observed that the cross-sectional area of thewarm air duct 22is somewhat smaller than that of any other opening or passage in thepath of air circulation. At this point in itsV travel, the density ofthe air, because its temperature here is highest, is appreciably lessthan at Y any other-point. Therefore, due in part to the increasedvolume of air here, and in part to the decreased cross-sectional area ofthe air passage, the velocity of upward air movement through the duct 22is relatively high. The kinetic energy of this upwardly moving columnzof warm air in duct 22 eifectually counters any tendency of the colderand heavier air from the refrigerant compartment to flow downwardlythrough duct 22 and thus to impede the circulation of air throughout therefrigerator.

The bottom'of the refrigerant compartment is slightly inclined so thatit will drain toward the pipe 19, and the upper edge of the opening 14is upturned, as shown at 20, to prevent water from the melting ice fromowing downwardly into the compartment 7. Sloping the bottom of therefrigerant compartment downwardly from the duct 22 toward the pipe 19and locating the pipe 19 near the opening 14 contributes appreciably tothe efficiency of my refrigerator. Cold air, like water flows down hill,and the air in it is chilled and condensed by contact with the ice,sinks to the bottom of the compartment and flows down the slope thereoftoward the opening 14 so that rapid circulation through this compartmentis yclosely against bafe 9 to prevent circulation of air therebetween.

In operation, a rapid and uniform circulation of air is maintained-inthe direction of the arrows as follows: The air in the refrigerantcompartment being cooled by contact with the ice or other refrigeratingelement is thereby condensed and sinks to the bottom of this compartmentfrom which it flows along or over the downwardly sloping bottom of flueor duct 13 to the opening 14 and thence downwardly through compartment 7wherein the most highly perishable food products are stored; thenceunder the baiile 9 and upwardly through the food compartment 8. As theair contacts with the stored food it absorbs heat therefrom, is warmedand expanded and flows upwardly through compartment 8. It leaves thefood compartment 8 through the duct or fiue 22, passes through theprotecting screen 18 into the refrigerant compartment Where it is cooledand condensed and the cycle repeated.

Inasmuch as the air is cooled primarily by direct contact with the icethe advantages of having the duct 22 communicate with the icecompartment at a comparatively low elevation, say four or ve inchesabove the ice rack, are apparent. By this arrangement, it is obviousthat the ice cake 6 may be appreciably diminished in size by meltingbefore it reaches a point so low that warm air passing over the top ofbaffle 1,6 does not comedirectly in contact therewith. Moreover, bylocating the warm air duct at a point remote from the cold air outlet 14and making the refrigerant compartment substantially greater in widththan height, an extremely long path of travel is provided so that theair is thoroughly chilled by contact with the refrigerant. Anotherimportant feature is the use of heat-insulating material for baffle 17.This prevents the cooling of the air in duct 22 by direct conduction ofheat through the baiiie and thus prevents any tendency, from this cause,to retard or create a reverse air flow here.

While AI have described my invention in its preferred embodiments, itwill be understood that the words which I have used are words ofdescription rather than of limitation and that changes within thepurview of the appended claims may be made without departing from thetrue scope and spirit of my invention in its broader aspects.

What I claim is:

l. A refrigerator comprising a casing, heat insulated partitionsdividing said casing into an upper refrigerant compartment extendingacross substantially the entire width of the casing and first and secondfood storage compartments below said refrigerant compartment; the firstfood compartment being substantially open at the top to provide directcommunication with the lower portion of the refrigerant compartment topermit the free downward flow of cold air therefrom 'at relatively lowvelocity, and the second food compartment being substantially closed atthe top but having a comparatively narrow nue communicating with therefrigerant compartment at a point intermediate the top and bottomthereof and remote from said rst food compartment to permit an upwardiiow of warm air into the refrigerant compartment at relatively highvelocity, whereby the kinetic energy of said upwardly moving warm airtends to prevent a counter flow of cold air from the refrigerantcompartment into said ue, and air circulation throughout saidrefrigerator is maintained in one direction.

2. A refrigerator comprising a heat-insulated casing, a heat-insulated,transverse partition in the upper part of said casing extending substantially from side wall to side wall thereof and subdividing theinterior into an upper refrigerant compartment having a greater widththan height and a lower food compartment; said partition having anopening of substantial size near one end for the downward passage ofcold air and a smaller opening immediately adjacent the opposite end forthe upward passage of warm air; a heat insulated baiiie extendingdownwardly from said partition intermediate said openings but adjacentthe larger and dividing the food compartment into sub-compartmentscommunicating in the lower zones thereof; and a second baie ofheat-insulating material extending upwardly from said partition at theedge of said smaller opening to form a comparatively low lip or dam forpreventing a downward flow of cold air from the refrigerant compartmentthrough said warm air passage.

3. The structure set forth in claim 1 in which the bottom of therefrigerant compartment is downwardly inclined toward the openingtherein for the outflow of cold air and in which the top of thatfood-storage compartment in which the air ows upwardly is upwardlyinclined toward the opening therein for the outflow of warm air.

FRANK H. RYDER.

